Oops!
by MoriasDepths
Summary: Neville's potion explodes in class, causing havoc. Main characters are Draco, Harry, Hermione, Neville, and Pansy.


These characters do not belong to me. Sigh...really, why do we have to put a disclaimer in here? The whole point of this website is to play around with stories and people that don't belong to us. OK, griping over. By the way, if anyone is interested in being a beta-writer, please, I would really appreciate it. It's _so_ much easier to rewrite a story if there's someone else to tell you what you did wrong the first time!

* * *

The first thing he was aware of were the echos from the explosion that rang in his ears. Draco Malfoy dazedly picked himself up off the Potions classroom floor and stared around at the chaos. He tried to speak, but his voice wouldn't rise above a whisper. "Well this is a fine mess." Almost as an afterthought he wondered, "What's Dad going to say?"

His attention was drawn to the Gryffindor side of the room by a sudden hysterical shrieking fit from Lavender Brown. Nearby her was Harry Potter, who had just sat up and was engaged in looking for his glasses. Out of sheer habit, a taunt slid out of Draco's mouth. "Hey, Potter. Would you like me to attach those spectacles to you with a Sticking Charm? Or is that going to be your next task right after 'saving the day' yet again?"

Harry glared back at Draco. "What's wrong, Malfoy, can't your Dad fix this? Or is he too busy hanging on Voldemort's every word to pay attention to such a trifle?"

Pansy Parkinson's shrill voice rose above the fledgling argument. "You mean we're going to _stay_ like this?" She stomped her foot. "No! I refuse to accept that! Draco, you need to fix this _now_!" She glanced over at the other side of the room, thenhysterically burst into an uncontrolled giggling fit. "Hey, look at the Mudblood. Can't go five minutes without burying her nose in a book."

Hermione Granger sank to the floor in a combination of embarrassment and annoyance while Ron Weasley had to be restrained from attacking Pansy, girl or not. Gazing sadly at her backpack, Hermione quickly said, "No, Ron, it's okay. I just wanted to read up on the antidotes again; and I forgot I couldn't touch the book."

Neville Longbottom chose that moment to sit up; staring frantically around the room. Spotting a new source of diversion, Draco made his voice sound as much as possible like Professor Snape's. "Today, we will be making the extremely difficult and very dangerous Intangibility Potion in the same classroom as Longbottom. I don't see any particular problem with this, do you?"

"Shut it, Malfoy," snapped Hermione. "I think we're all sick of hearing your voice." At a whimper from Neville, she turned to comfort him. "It's all right, Neville. It wasn't your fault."

Pansy snorted. "Well, it was his potion that exploded. Just how does that make this," she gestured around her at the students filling the room, "not his fault?"

"Well, Pansy," Hermione spat furiously, "maybe because I saw your _boyfriend_ toss a firecracker into Neville's cauldron just before it exploded."

Malfoy felt a sudden surge of apprehension. Pansy looked as if she was about to explode. "How dare you accuse Draco of this! Draco, are you just going to let them..." her voice trailed off as she stared at her boyfriend. "You didn't...did you?"

"He had one earlier; I saw him slip it into his bookbag." grunted Goyle.

One by one, the Slytherins joined the Griffindors in staring at Draco, who was feeling progressively more alarmed. "All right, _darling_," hissed Pansy. "Forget about Griffindor justice. You'd better start worrying about Slytherin _vengeance_."

On the edge of panic, Draco searched for a nonexistent escape route. "Wait, it was just a joke on those Griffindor idiots. How was I supposed to know _this_ would happen?"

"Well," Hermine said archly, "you might have started off by remembering that when Professor Snape had to leave the classroom, he told everybody to sit still and not touch anything until he came back. Then, sorry Neville, you might have remembered that Neville's potions aren't usually what they're supposed to be. Then..." Draco cut her off.

"Okay, Mudblood. I get the picture. Shut up." He paused, and then asked, "What was in that cauldron, anyway?"

"You mean you didn't even _look_?" she asked shrilly. "It just _happened_ to be one of the most potent poisons in the wizarding world! One drop on bare skin can kill a grown man. And thanks to your _joke_, we all got hit with _more_ than enough!"

Draco stared at his body, which lay on the floor beneath him. "Oops", he whispered.


End file.
